Administrators indicate the museum does make exceptions. Miley notes that admission passes were given to artists represented in this winter's juried exhibition. According to a museum employee who requests anonymity, out-of-towners unaware of the admission change have been allowed to pay what they can. Local residents pleading hardship have been treated similarly, although the standard procedure, says Blume, is to ask them to return on free days: not only first Saturdays, but the Fifth Street Creativity Festival in May, Family Day in September and the Auxiliary Tea in December.

Heeps and Berman are among those who want more free days at Fifth and Court streets. Berman is trustees chairman at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which waives admission between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sundays, excluding special events like the current display of Picasso still lifes.

There are "no immediate plans" for extra free days, says Blume. But the policy, he admits, "is not written in stone." Trustee Leon C. Holt Jr. says suggested donations could return with a major restricted gift. It was a donation, after all, that has enabled the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia to remain free on Saturday mornings for more than a century.

Museum leaders insist the admission policy is comparatively liberal. Miley says other institutions are free for only portions of days, which makes casual visits impossible. Blume says freeing up a Saturday, usually a high-traffic day in Allentown, is more generous than freeing up a Sunday, normally a low-traffic day.

Some Lehigh Valley residents believe more services would increase traffic on each of the six days the museum is open. One reason Riedy continues to stay away is that the organization hasn't added a restaurant or more diverse shows since charging admission. "It's not like it's a huge museum, that it has tons and tons to offer," she points out. "They're charging too much for not enough variety. There's not enough bang for the buck."

A cafe was listed as a possibility in last fall's members newsletter. The project, says Miley, has been shelved by red tape and potential red ink. Health codes, she explains, are Byzantine and most museum food services lose money, something this organization can't afford to do.

Food service "is not a dead issue, by any means," insists Miley. She adds that "attractive" vending machines or a hot-dog stand on Fifth Street might be a good temporary improvement, not to mention a lure for two future target groups: downtown workers and jurors.

A wider range of exhibitions is a thornier subject. Some people think the museum is elitist; that its programming caters to a largely white audience; that it offers few programs appealing to Latinos and African-Americans. "There is nothing for ethnic groups in the area," says an anonymous museum employee, "and they are in an ethnic area."

Curators admit their mission is relatively conservative. Textiles and Pennsylvania German crafts are stressed partly because large audiences exist for both media. The current "Discover America" campaign is tied to the Columbus quincentennial, another big draw.

"Just because you put on an exhibition of African-American art, it doesn't mean you'll attract the throngs," reasons Miley. " ... I don't know if it's the best hook." She and other curators prefer to leave far-ranging cultural diversity to area organizations like the Lehigh University Art Galleries, just as they believe the New Arts Program in Kutztown is a better showcase for performance-driven visual art.

Museum officials claim the superior way to reach ethnic groups is through school tours and special events. To advertise the Creativity Festival held last May 2-3, thousands of cards were delivered to center-city sites, everywhere from churches to shelters. As part of the museum's year-long "Discover American Design" series, a workshop will be held on Native American weaving.

Blume doesn't quite understand those who demand additional services with admission. "It wasn't as if we were looking to add three new attractions and four new thrill rides," says the director. "We thought that the value was inherent and pre-existing. We would like always to improve that product, of course."

To improve that product, the museum has improved its marketing. Partly to make Fifth and Court streets more accessible to the area -- a conclusion of a strategic plan completed last March -- curators have installed more shows of local interest: technology in 18th- and 19th-century America; landscapes by Gustav Grunewald, who taught and worked in Bethlehem; paintings by Michael Kessler of Kutztown. Thanks to a restricted gift, the building's tin trim was painted this summer. Blume calls the makeover part of a strategic plan for aesthetics. Improved lighting and posters, he notes, make the building smile, and, hopefully, visitors smile at the building.